Perry's first veto strikes down disclosure bill

By David Saleh Rauf :
May 25, 2013

AUSTIN — In his first veto of the session, Gov. Rick Perry on Saturday officially scrubbed controversial proposal aimed at shining a light on secret campaign spending.

Senate Bill 346 by Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, would have required nonprofits set up under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code to publicly disclose contributors who give more than $1,000 to any dark money group that spends $25,000 or more on politicking.

The bill easily passed the Senate before Sen. Dan Patrick moved to have it recalled because of First Amendment concerns. The House rejected the call to send the bill back to the Senate and ended up passing it on a 99-46 vote earlier this month.

The news of the veto first became public Saturday when a Senate clerk read a message on the floor of the upper chamber indicating that Perry was striking down the proposal based on freedom of speech concerns.